Summary of Key Points
This news report exposes a transnational criminal organization called Foxtrot Network, which has turned murder into a business model similar to how tech companies offer services—referred to as Violence as a Service (VaaS). They target vulnerable adolescents from broken families who lack love and recognition. They recruit these youths by manipulating their emotions (pretending to be a big brother or father) and using a gamified approach (presenting murder as a level to complete in a game), convincing them to become killers while taking on all the risks themselves with almost no cost. Even more absurdly, this organization has been accused by the United States and the United Kingdom of being linked to Iran, potentially being used as a geopolitical pawn to target Israeli targets.
Detailed Analysis
1. Turning Violence into a Service? Criminal Organizations Embrace Tech Company Models
Have you heard of tech companies offering Software as a Service (SaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS)? This criminal organization has taken it a step further by turning murder into a streamlined service: Violence as a Service (VaaS).
Here’s how it works:
- Advertising: They post explicit recruitment messages on Instagram and TikTok (“Recruiting shooters, 800,000 in hand”).
- Coordination: They engage in private conversations and verify identities through passports.
- Logistics: They book flights, provide weapons, and deliver money to the shooters.
- Command: They remotely urge the shooters to act and then promote the attacks through videos.
Each member of the organization only knows their part of the process, just like a courier who doesn’t know what’s inside the package they deliver. This structure makes it difficult to dismantle the organization and allows for rapid expansion.
2. Why Use Children as Killers? They’re the “Cheapest and Most Controllable Resources”
Foxtrot prefers to recruit adolescents aged 12 to 20 for several reasons:
- Low Cost: Many children are caught before completing their missions, so the promised rewards never have to be paid out; the recruiters (often teenagers themselves, such as the Norwegian boy who was 2 years younger than the shooters) save on wages.
- Easy to Manipulate: These children often come from broken families (e.g., have been in rehab or welfare institutions) and lack love and recognition. The organization pretends to be a “big brother” or “good father,” using false promises to bond with them.
- Gamed Mindset: They frame murder as a game—traveling to the UK is like “exploring a new level,” getting a weapon is like “unlocking new gear,” and meeting intermediaries is like interacting with “NPCs.” The children gradually forget that it’s real murder until the police break in.
3. Almost Zero Cost for the Organization? All Risks Fall on the Children
Foxtrot’s profit model is almost effortless:
- No Payment Required: The Norwegian boy in the news was arrested before even carrying out the attack, and another recruit said, “I knew I wouldn’t get paid, but I had no choice.”
- Risk Shifting: The organization’s leaders hide in Iraq or Sweden, while only the children executing the tasks get caught.
- Possible Sponsors: The U.S. and UK accuse Iran of commissioning them to target Israeli targets, with the organization either making a profit from the commissions or receiving direct funding.
It’s essentially using children’s lives to make money with no risk for the organization.
4. No “Léon” in Real Life: The Trapped Situation of Vulnerable Adolescents
In the movie Léon: The Professional, 12-year-old Mathilda meets a kind-hearted Léon, but real-life children are less fortunate:
- Their families are involved in drug trafficking or abuse, and they can’t stay in school; welfare institutions don’t provide enough support.
- Normal paths to life are closed to them, so joining a criminal organization seems like the only way to “make a name for themselves.”
- The organization’s false promises of care become their only source of emotional support, leading them to jump into the trap despite knowing it’s a lie.
Norwegian statistics show that among 31 individuals involved in such crimes in 2025, 16 had contact with child welfare systems, and 12 were living in welfare institutions at the time.
5. Are Powerful Nations Behind the Crime? Children as Victims of Geopolitics
This isn’t just a simple gang crime: The U.S. and UK accuse Foxtrot of acting on behalf of Iran to target Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe. This implies that:
- Foxtrot is more than just a criminal organization; it has become a tool in the geopolitical conflict between Iran and Israel.
- The recruited children are not just victims of crime but also pawns in larger power struggles, possibly unaware of the complex political context behind their actions.
In conclusion, these children are not born killers; they are pushed into this abyss by their families, society, and criminal organizations. Foxtrot’s VaaS model has turned violence into a cold, profit-driven business, treating children as interchangeable resources—a reality even more brutal than the stories in movies.